Receptacle capping apparatus



Sept. 28, 1943. V 1. KOTCHER 2,330,597

RECEPTACLE CAP'PING APPARATUS Filed July 25, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1zbiaker Inventor Attorneys I Sept; 28, 1943. 1. KOTCHER 2,330,597

RECEPTACLE CAPPING APPARATUS Filed July 23, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor fizua'n fizicfier M A itomeys Sept. 28, 1943. L KOTCHERRECEPTACLE CAPPING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Shet 3 Filed July 25, 1943 Inventor ZZfJ/Zfli' A iiorneys p 1943. I. KOTCHER REC EPTACLE CAPPlNGAPPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 2-3, 1943 Inventor I Harm-51sSept. 28, 1943.

I. KOTCHER RECEPTACLE CAPPING APPARATUS Filed July 25, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor fliaer 4/ A itorneys Patented Sept. 28, 1943JUNITED STATE-S PATENT PF! CE r RECEPTAOLE CAPPINGJAPPARATUS.

' Irwin Kotcher, Brooklyn, N. Y.

;A1JDliCEtti0Il July 23, 1943, Serial No; 495,957

8 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to al -receptacle capping device, mainly designed:for applying caps to. cartons which havebeen previously filled,thegeneral object oft-heinventiomb'eing to provide an elevator forlifting a group. of. cartons .from aconveyo'r into-capping position,mechanical and pneumatic means for removing caps from holdersandplacing. the caps over openings in the cartons and plunger means forpressing. the caps into the openings of the cartons.

The present invention isanimproyement over that forming. the subject.matter of application filed by; me :on May 19.; 1937.; Serial No.143,583,

which has matured into Patent. No; 2,167,894,

.dated August 1,1939. I

. The invention is illustrated in. the accompany ing drawings in which:

' Figure 1- anielevational-viewxof the invention.

. Figure 2 is.:a sectionon the:line-Z-Z'of Figure/l.

Figure3 is a'section on the'line 3.:-'-3 of Figure I.

r-Figure 4 is ase-ction on theyline l:4 of Figure l.

.Figure 3; t

Figure '11 is a isecti'onzon'. the line H-l I; of

Figurel.

zFigure 1-2 is amsection' on the: line l3l-3. of Figure 4.

zFigure. 13: is a view of the fingeredmember-for stopping movement ofthe cartons by the conveyor at the rear endv of the elevator.

Inthesedrawings, the letter A indicates a; supporting. frame adjustablyconnected as ata tov the foot portions A. The frame carries the frontand rear grooved rollers l for the horizontal conveyor 2v which is.composed ofa plurality of endlesscoiled springs which are spaced apartand. lit in the grooves. One of these rollers can be driven in anysuitable manner, though in actual practice the conveyor will receive.cartons C from a filling apparatus and the conveyor can-be driven fromthis filling. apparatusi; .TheJupper reach of the conveyor passes over ahorizontally arranged inverted channel-shaped member 3 forming a part ofthe frame and which is provided with slots extending longitudinally. Anelevator E, composed of a plurality of elongated longitudinallyextending plate's. 4;: spaced apart and connected through the slotsof1the..member. .3 and between place the cartons upon the conveyor;-tally arranged longitudinally extending guide bars 6 are suitablysupported by the frame; oneon each ,guidingmeans 23 carried by theframe.

the springs of theconveyor 2. This elevator-is adapted tolift thecartonsoifathe conveyor into cap receiving positions and-then afterthecaps have been applied the elevator is lowered-to reside of the conveyorfor holding and guiding the cartons as theyaare' being moved by'the.conveyor and also while they are being moved by the. elevator.Vertically extending rods; l have their upper ends attachedto theelevaton theserods being arranged in pairswith a-pair connected to eachend portion of the elevatorythe rodshb'eing preferably of non-circularshape in cross section and pass through similar; shaped holes in'cross 1:bars 8 at the lower part of theiframe and springs B'connectthe"lowerportions ofythe rods to the bars 8 to: normally holdtheelevator. in lowered position. The lower ends of the rodsof each pairareconnected' together by" the, cross pieces-in whichengage the-outerendsi-of a pair oflevers l l' pivoted: intermediate theirendstoipartsrof the frame as shown at I2 and a yoke I3 is pivotedtoa part.of' the frame as shown at-M'and hasits free end resting. upon the inner:BI'ldSiOf the levers i I and saidzinnerrend carries a rollenl 5engagedby a cam it on ahorizontalshaft i-l suitably jou1'-' thus raisethe elevator,- th springs 9v returning the elevator to. loweredvposition; The of course, is: so formed as to hold'the; elevator-inraised position long enoughior the capping oper ation to-beperformedand'then the elevator moves downwardly to replace thecartonsupon the conveyor.

In order to prevent the foremost carton. c f .thc

group of cartons from movingwith theconveyor beyond; capping position Iprovide a vertically movablemember I8, see'Figure 13, which isformed-With a pluralityofupright fingers 19 for passing through theslots in the channel member is and between the springs of:.the conveyor2, said member 18 being formed with a shank ZlI-having a roller 2.! atits lower end which rides on acam 2'2 onthe shaft ll, the shank beingguidedby the '22 is sc -formed that memberv it will be in raisedposition extending across the path of movement of the cartons-whiletheelevator is in, lowered positionzsoas to permit agroup of .cartons tobe Horizons Thescam moved by the conveyor over the elevator and thuspreventing the cartons from being moved by the conveyor beyond cappingposition. Then as the elevator moves downwardly to replace the cappedcartons upon the conveyor member 58 is permitted by the cam 22 to belowered by the spring 24 so that as the cartons are replaced on theconveyor they can move with the conveyor out of capping position.

A longitudinally extending substantially inverted channel member 25 issupported in horizontal position in an upper portion of the frame, thismember having its depending flanges with inner faces 26 which slopeupwardly and inwardly with the upper edges of these faces merging intoshort, vertical walls 21, see Figure 7, said vertical walls forming aspace for snugly receiving the upper ends of the cartons for holding thecartons against movement, the sloping faces or walls 36 acting to guidethe upper ends of the cartons between the vertical walls 21. The member25 carries a plurality of short vertically arranged tubular members 28which open out into the space formed by the walls 26 and 21 and eachtubular member at one side thereof is formed with'anopening 29 for thepassage of a cap into the tubular member, the bottom wall of the opening29 being flush with the top of the member 25.

A plurality of plunger cylinders 30 have their lower ends threaded intoholes in the member 25 and each cylinder has a rod 3| passingtherethrough, each rod having a head 32 at its upper end which acts as astop for limiting downward movement of the rod by engaging the upper endof the cylinder and a spring 33 is located in each cylinder and has itsupper end bearing against the top of the cylinder and its lower endagainst a collar 34 on the rod for holding the rod in its loweredposition with its lower end extending into the space formed by thechannel member 25. Thus these plungers tend to force the cartonsdownwardly out of the space formed by the channel member 25. A plungeris shown in detail in Figure 10.

The caps C come in tubular containers 35 and these containers are placedin vertically arranged tubes 36 arranged in a longitudinally extendingrow on a supporting member 3l'at the rear upper portion of the frame. Aspring actuated latch 38 carried by the upper part of each tube 36prevents the container 35 from being accidentally pulled from the tube,see Figures 4 and 7. The upper end of each tube curves downwardly fromits rear portion to its front portion as shown at 39 and the rearportion is provided with a vertical slot 40, this top portion of eachtube extending beyond the upper end of a container 35.

Horizontally arranged guide bars 4| extend rearwardly from the top partof the frame and at their rear ends are connected together by the crossbar 42 and at the rear ends each bar 4| carries a cam projection 43which extends upwardly as shown in Figure '7. Slides 44 are supported bythe bars 4! and a tubular member 45 has its ends reduced and rotatablysupported in lugs 44' of the slides 44. An arm 46 has one end rigidlyconnected to each end of the tubular member 45 and the other end of eacharm. carries a roller 4! for engaging the upper edge of a bar 4| and thecam 43, the roller engagingthe cam when a slide nears the outerend ofits stroke. tends to hold each arm in lowered position. A plurality oftubular arms 49 extend forwardly from the tubular member 45 and are incommunication therewith anda cup 50 is attached to the A spring d6.

forward end of each arm 49. Each cup has a perforated rubber gasket 5|attached to its open end, as shown in Figure 7, and as shown in thisfigure when the slides 44 approach the rear ends of their strokes therollers 41 will engage the earns 43 so that the tubular member is partlyrotated in a clockwise direction which throws the arms 49 downwardly toplace the cups in the upper ends of the tubes 36 and thus a cup willpick up a cap C from a container 35 due to suetion occurring in thetubular parts and the cup as will be hereinafter described. Then theslides with the member 45 and the parts carried thereby are movedforwardly to place the cups 5!) with the caps carried thereby in thetubular members 28 so that the caps can be pressed into the openings inthe upper ends of the cartons C. As will be seen, as the slides 44 moveforwardly the rollers 47 will move on the cams 43, thus permitting thesprings 48 to lower the arms 46 to place the rollers 4'! on the bars 4|and to raise the arms 46 so that the cups will enter the tubular members26.

The means for reciprocating the slides 44 and member 45 include a pairof levers 52 connected together by a bar 53 and pivoted at their lowerends to brackets 54 attached to a lower part of the supporting frame. Alink 55 connects the upper end of each lever 52 to the member 45, asshown in Figure 3 and springs 56 connected with the levers 52 and a partof the frame tend to hold the slides in their rearward positions, shownin Figure 7. Bars 58 are slidingly supported in herizontal position bythe horizontal guides 59 and each bar 58 has a forked outer end, theprongs of which fit over a lower portion of each lever 52 and the innerend of each bar 53 engages the upper end of a lever 60 the lower end ofwhich is pivoted to a bracket 6|. The upper end of each lever 56 carriesa laterally extending pintle for a roller 62 engaged by a cam 63, thesecams being carried by the shaft H. The guides 59 have their outer endsof forked construction, as shown in Figure 5 for receiving portions ofthe levers 52 i. when the same are moved inwardly by the springs 56 whenlow parts of the earns 63 are engaging the rollers 62. Thus under theaction of the springs 56 and cams 63 the levers 52 are oscillated toreciprocate the slides 44 and the tubular member 45 and the partscarried thereby so as to move caps C from tubes 36 intocapping positionin the tubular members 28, and then to return the parts to pick-upposition as shown in Fig ure 7.

The capping plungers 64 depend from a bar 65 and said plungers passthrough guiding bosses 66 extending upwardly from a cross member 6'! atthe top of the supporting frame. Each plunger is provided with a head 68at its lower end for fitting in a cap C and for forcing th cap into ahole in the upper end of a carton C. This bar 65 is supported by thecross pieces 69 and each cross piece 69 is connected to the upper endsof a pair of vertically arranged bars in. The four bars '16 are guidedin the frame for vertical movement and are normally held in loweredposition by the springs H and, as shown in Figure 9, each pair of bars79 carries a lower cross bar 12 which carries a roller 73, said rollersbeing engaged by cams H on the shaft ll, these cams 14 raising andlowering the capping plungers 64 in conjunction with the springs H, theparts acting to lower the plungers 64 after the caps C have beendeposited in the tubular parts 28.

In order to prevent damage to the suction cups whichupasses;throughitthe; slctaSB: wherebyesthe and i I the parts attached thereto::by; accidental downward movementzofithe cappingplungers IprovideanglmarmsiTB onithe' linksi 55; to; support the: stop: members i1 6, which. are located; between the bar 65 and; the. membersxfific;Thus-these .members'ile are moved-hfromi under the abar 65 whentheilinksxih moverearwardly SOl. that. the bar-I 653 with the; cappingplungers can move-downwardly= but if, for any reason," the-levers52;;and 'linksi'ji: were not 'moveda then-the; memhersi'lfi wilt preventthe .banfitlfrommovingn downwardly. Jr: manifold '1 l: is; connected:with. the tubular member 45 and. asflexibles conduit '18" connects the;manifold to" a valve 1:9), see "Figure 8, which iszconnected byzaconduit 8ittoa vacuumroiirsuctiom producing: device; vAn inletizconduitz81a is connected: ;with::the1 conduit .18.? in; front? of the valvei'wland: contains a"--"valve 852; These valves :19 amd'tfirare normallyheldaclosedin'anysuitabie manner; and they; areadaptedi to he moved toopencposition by. the 'pivotedwarms; 83'. Each arm has-la roller 8:4" atitsguppertend; fora'engagement by the'i'cam: 22 whi'chractuatesthe'zstop: member 1:8? and: thiscamiis soz-formed that as: thearmsa ltofi the: tubular member; QEL'dI'OPPi-HZQ" the tuloes; 3,6 the arm- 83:of 'valve'llii will open said=valvewhile thevalve ."B-Za-I'emainsclosed; Thus a; vacuum or u shaped gmember is supported forslidingmovement conltheazupright .98 and: the: upper ends; of thelimbsrof; the U-shaped "member are curved upwardly andzlrearwa-rdlyi{to-1 provide the ;horns 1,02- for; lifting the: holding dog- 92 into;unopenated position whengthev U;-shaped: member is 'lifilfldz. A block-I 0Y3-.;is1 -:providedat, the lower. end of the U -sh'aped member whichhas a cam part, see Figure 4,,for; engaging the dog ge, when; theU-shaped member is moved up.wardly, .v to-move said dog 9,5into--1.1nepera-ted position;e This-member-,- lfill is. raised--te-movethe twoqdogs 92-and 95 into; inoperative position, by means of a lever1M and a link rod which: connects the lever with a part, of the u-shapedmember ;see Figure "11-.-

' The bar '93 is raisedbyqmeansof ashort lever M 6 --pivetedintermediate its; ends to a" depending part of the; frame with itsfreeend passing, into I v roller. lllU .,on..cam [6 will engage thelever lllB suction 1 will; be; produced: in: the; cups 59:"sm11h'at thecamv willvpermitvthes valve 19: tol close and will; open; thee valver1325 sonthat, I the: suctionw-o-r and) thus cause. the shortilever [-05to. raiseiban93 v V to tcausethe ldogyl i moiraise the rack-loan 90vacuum inathencupstfiil is; brokenbwairi entering I through thecbnduih81, :into-ithe; conduit J31 Jand thusyinto the cups; Thiscauseszthe-icaps-tadrop from; the cups and then the cup; carry ingdpartsmove'hacln to the; positionshown; in- Eigure/ 7- and then the: valve1-82- is permitted torcloser and the valvefiii again" opened to; create;a' suction" in the-cups; Ofcourse; :thatlpart of thesconduit-lficonnected with:thevalve la is not-flexiblebut a suflicient part of theconduit sheuldrbeimade flexible so as, to'- not interfere with; thesliding movement; of the-member: 535 and;- thee parts-asso- 'CiQJtEdtI-IG'Z'BWEIIZ I "Pistons B5aarearranged in. the containers :58 for.raising;--thecaps G" asycaps are-removeddirem the upper ends" thereof:The; rods 851-pithe epistonsapass-threugh thelower endsof the members35:;and: the tubes 3.3 ,and are: suitably-isuppoizted forgverticalmovement. -The=lowen ends;- of. these rods areiconnected an anglerhan awhich has its reduced ends as enga ing;auidinggroovesin the uprie-htbars. 35: terrains: part of, the support-.- ing fiiamei, Avvertical-l-y-rarranged-=rack barthastits lower endv connected toithe'central. part ofrthe .bar 8-! and this. rackehar operates in:theiguidewhich,. in\turn raisesithe.member 8.! to raisethe pistons.85;,and thus. the capsCcare keptatthe upper. endslofsthe containerswherenthey canbe pickedup by the suction cups" NVhen it is desired tolower therbar the lever H14v is .,-pulled; upwardly which throughmeansofwthe links miwill raise the U-shaped member me e release theidogsandthis will, permit-the, piston carrying parts, tolcwer -so that anewsupply oicailslc'an he placedinithe tubes'36'.

' In .order to preventftherollersfli' carried I the barsillj fromengaging the; low parts ofgthe' cams i'M cross, pieces 'lllfj arecarried by lower partsioil the main framefand act; as,stops for lim;

en idow war m nt of t b s- 95%. shownin-Ei'guresfiand 9.

. Thus a group of cartons "are brought over the elevator bythe conveyorand the firstfcarton 'of the group ,is plievented' from moving beyondthe'elevator'byf;the,stop member l8 beingflifted by the c -2250a t an;it 'andthen' thegrollp off cartons, is lifted'fbyfthe elevator until;their I i tops enteri'the space formed by theflangesof way 9I attachedto the front faoe of the member 7 3J and aheldingidog; 2'. is-piveted tothei lower part of,v theguidewaylfit: and: engages .thelracl;

barrunder. the action; ot cg'ravityeas =Sh0W.-I1l' imfig:

ures 4 and;;12-. A vertically mevableabw fifi has' right: angularlyextending-ears teat itsupper end 7 between which; is; pivoted 7 a dog;at asv shown; in

Figures A, and: 11, this-dog beingzadapted to en:- gage. theteeth'rofcthemrack bar. This bar is guided: for; v verticaliqmovement by;the guiding means flfiand is normallmheldin lowered: position a:spring. fifivandw it is; located in rear of; an upright:: 92 ierme'dcwith aslot 59; isee. Figure ll.

A; substantially UV-.eshapecl' memberrlilll is: provided the rriem berthe elevatoribeing "raised by the camj l'fii leverj I l and 'the; rodsT. Caps; C1 are conveyed from the containersin tubesQSS'by the fslicl'esmy and the tubular member 45 and the parts attached thereto to thetuhular parts, 28 and then the slides-jreturnfto pick up another group ofcaps} I'he' icapsj; are, pushed 'into' the qarton's by the plunger's"64' ct ed by the" uprightrodsflll and the can necate mcn ing to raisetheplungersand thesprings'l-l act ing to move the-plungis' downwardy topress e thecapsi-nto "thefhole's of the-cartons. -'I*hen the plungersare raised by the cai'ns 'M andthe elevator is moved" downwardly toreplace the cappedcartons back upon the-conveyor and befo'rethis'happens the stop'i'nember' I8 is lowered sothat thefi'conveyorcanmove the cartons from overthe elevator."- vThen anewlgroup of cartonsismoved by the conveyors overthe elevator so that this new: groupiof.cartonst can. be capped;

suction to the cups 50 and the roller 1 I!) on cam l B feeding the capsupwardly so that they can be picked up by the cups 50, the cams 63reciprocating the cap pick up means by means of the levers 52 and links55, the springs 56 turning the pick up means to rearmost position; Thespring plungers in the housings 30 act to prevent the cartons fromsticking in the member 25.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. In a receptacle capping machine, a supporting frame, a conveyor forbringing the receptacles into capping position, a stop member supportedfor vertical movement in the frame and when raised preventing movementof the receptacles by the conveyor, beyond capping position, an elevatorfor raising the receptacles off the conveyor, a member in the upperportion of the frame for receiving the upper ends of the receptacleswhen raised by the elevator, a horizontally movable carriage, capsupporting means, plungers for forcing the caps into the receptacles, ashaft journaled in the frame, cams on the shaft, means actuated by thecams for operating the elevator, the stop member, the carriage and theplungers, suction means carried by the carriage for picking up the capsfrom the cap supporting means and holding the caps while the carriage isbeing moved to depositing position after which the suction means arerendered inactive, a conduit connected with the suction means of thecarriage and adapted to be connected with a source of suction, valvemeans in the conduit, and one of the camsof the shaft actuating thevalve means.

2. In a receptacle capping machine, a supporting frame, a conveyor forbringing the receptacles into capping position, a stop member supportedfor vertical movement in the frame and when raised preventing movementof the receptacles by the conveyor, beyond capping position, an elevatorfor raising the receptacles off the conveyor, a member in the upperportion of the frame for receiving the upper ends of the receptacleswhen raised by the elevator, a horizontally movable carriage, capsupporting means, plungers for forcing the caps into the receptacles, ashaft journaled in the frame, cams on the shaft, means actuated by thecams for operating the elevator, the stop member, the carriage and theplungers, suction means carried by the carriage for picking up the capfrom the cap supporting means and holding the caps while the carriage isbeing moved to depositing, position after which the suction means are.rendered inactive, a conduit connected with the suction means of thecarriage, valve means in the con- .duit, and one of. the cams of theshaft actuating the valve means, said cap supporting means includingtubular members, means for feeding the caps upwardly in said tubularmembers and means for operating the feeding means from one of the cams.

3. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, an inverted channelmember supported in the upper part of the frame, the flanges of whichhave upwardly and inwardly sloping walls terminating at their upper endsin vertical walls for receiving the upper end of a carton, a tubularmember extending upwardly from the channel member and in communicationwith a portion of the space formed by the flanges of said channelmember, a horizontally movable invention, what is carriage supported bythe frame, a tubular member supported for rocking movement in thecarriage, a tubular arm extending forwardly from the tubular member, asuction cup carried by the forward end of the arm, a vertically arrangedtubular member for receiving caps, cam means for tilting thefirst-mentioned tubular member to place the cup in position to pick up acap when the carriage is in its rearward position, the cup depositingthe cap in the tubular member of the channel member when the carriage isin its forward position, a conduit connected with the tubular member ofthe carriage and adapted to be connected with a source of suction, valvemeans in the conduit normally closing the conduit, other valve means forconnecting the conduit with the atmosphere, a cam for'opening the firstvalve means and closing the second valve means when the carriage is inis rearward position and while the carriage is traveling to its forwardposition, after which the cam closes the first valve means and opens thesecond valve means to cause the cup to release the cap to place the capin the tubular member of the channel member, a plungerfor forcing thecap into the carton, an elevator for raising and lowering the carton,means for actuating the elevator, means for actuating the carriage andmeans for actuating the plunger, said means including a single shaft onwhich the cam for operating the valve means is arranged.

4. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, an inverted channelmember, the flanges of which form a space for receiving upper ends ofcartons, said member having openings vertically arranged therein, meansfor feedging caps into said openings, a plurality of vertically movableplungers carried by the frame, a bar to which the upper ends of theplungers ar connected, members depending from the bar, spring meansconnected to said members for moving them and the bar downwardly tocause the plungers to force the caps into the cartons, and cam means forraising the members against the'action of the sp g means.

' 5. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, an invertedchannel member, the flanges of which forma space for receiving upperends of cartons, said member having openings vertically arrangedtherein, means for feeding caps into said openings, a plurality'ofvertically movable plungers carried by theframe, a bar to which theupper ends of the plungers are connected, members depending from thebar, spring means connected to said members for moving them and the bardownwardly to cause the plungers to force the caps into the cartons, andcam means for raising the members against the action of the springmeans, and spring plungers for forcing the cartons from out of the spaceformed by the channel member.

6. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, a horizontallymovabl carriage supported by the frame, capping means in the frame,

vertically arranged cap containers supported by the frame in rear of thecapping means, a tubular member supported for rocking movement in thecarriage, tubular arms extending forwardly from the tubular member, asuction cup at the forward end of each arm, armsextending rearwardlyfrom the tubular member, spring means connected with the last-mentionedarms I for holding the tubular arms/in raised position, cam meansengaging the second-mentioned arms at the rear end of the stroke of thecarriage for tilting the tubular member to place the cups in the capcontainers, means for reciprocating the carriage, the cups placing thecaps in capping position at the end of the forward stroke of thecarriage, a conduit connected with the tubular member and adapted to beconnected with a source of suction, a valve normally closed in theconduit, a pipe connecting the conduit in front of the valve with theatmosphere, a normally closed valve in said pipe, means for opening thefirst-mentioned valve when the cups are in the cap containers and whilethe carriage is moving forwardly, said means opening the second valvewhen the carriage reaches its forward position to break the suction inthe cups.

7. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, a horizontallymovable carriage supported by the frame, capping means in the frame,

vertically arranged cap containers supported by the frame in rear of thecapping means, a tubular member supported for rocking movement in thecarriage, tubular arms extending forwardly from the tubular member, asuction cup at the forward endof each arm, arms extending rearwardlyfrom the tubular member, spring means connected with the last-mentionedarms for holding the tubular arms in raised position, cam means engagingthe second-mentioned arms at the rear end of the stroke of the carriagefor tilting the tubular member to-place the cups in the cap containers,means for reciprocating the carriage, the cups placing the caps incapping position at the end of the forward stroke of the carriage, aconduit connected with the tubular member and adapted to be connectedwith a source of suction, a valve normally closed in the conduit, a pipeconnecting the conduit in front of the valve with the atmosphere, anormally closed valve in said pipe, means for opening thefirst-mentioned valve when the cups are in the cap containers and whilethe carriage is moving forwardly, said means opening the second valvewhen the carriage reaches its forward position to break the suction inthe cups, a piston in each container for moving the cups upwardlytherein, a rack bar, means for connecting the rack bar with the pistons,a dog, a member carrying the dog, means for reciprocating the dogcarrying member, a holding dog for the rack bar and manually operatedmeans for moving the dogs to releasing position.

8. In a carton capping machine, a supporting frame, a member in theupper portion thereof, for receiving the upper ends of cartons to becapped, cap containers supported in the frame, a horizontally movablecarriage, means carried by the carriage for conveying caps from thecontainers to the member, vertically arranged levers, links connectingthe upper ends of the le-- vers to the carriage, sprin means connectedwith the levers for holding the carriage in its rearward position, cammeans for moving the levers outwardly to move the carriage to itsforward position, means for raising and lowering the cartons, plungersfor forcin the caps into the cartons, means for actuating the plungers,and means carried by the links for preventing downward movement of theplungers while the carriage is in its forward position.

' IRWIN KOTCHER.

